


First Impressions

by autumnsolstice9



Category: Naruto
Genre: Drabble, Family Dynamics, Gen, background kurenai/asuma but it isnt the point of the story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:47:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24264595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autumnsolstice9/pseuds/autumnsolstice9
Summary: Hinata has never known the love of a father, so when she meets Asuma, she doesn't know what to think.
Relationships: Hyuuga Hinata & Sarutobi Asuma
Comments: 1
Kudos: 42





	First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> wish we got to see more of asuma interacting with team 8! those are his step-kids!

Hinata has never known the love of a father, so when Kurenai-sensei introduces her to Asuma-sensei, she is wary. He has a small smile on his face, his eyes shining as he looks at Kurenai, and Hinata wants to relax her muscles but she is unable. She knows she is tense- a jonin-sensei would undoubtedly be able to recognize the anxiety that thrums through her veins- but Asuma is so giant in front of her, she doesn’t know what to do.

She knows her sensei can take care of herself, has watched her effortlessly cause enemy nin to lose their direction and thought in genjutsu, but a much larger part of Hinata is scared for Kurenai. What if Asuma were to get angry, would he hit her? She is Hyuuga, and she knows the power of names in a village of political power. A Sarutobi. The son of the Hokage. She is acutely aware that if Asuma were to hurt Kurenai, he would not get away with it, but he would not be seriously reprimanded. He would receive a slap on the wrists, and then he could come back. His large figure casts a shadow over where Hinata stands, and her fingers are shaking where they rest inside her pockets as she gazes up at him. A powerful man, she knows, a Konoha nin, she knows, an ally, she knows, but he is also potentially dangerous.

She wants to protect Kurenai-sensei from this man. She wants to take her sensei far away from his Sarutobi status and any harm he could potentially cause, but her sensei had brought her out to a dango stand to meet him instead. “The rest of the team will meet him later,” Kurenai had told her, crouching down to meet her eyes, “But I want to make sure you meet him as just Asuma-san, not as another team’s sensei during training. And, if you don’t feel comfortable around him, he doesn’t have to come over to our home.” It had made warmth blossom in her chest to hear Kurenai call the small house they lived in their home, and so she had willingly followed her sensei to the dango stand near Ichiraku’s to meet Asuma.

Now that she was here though, she wasn’t sure what to think. When he greets her, hand raised, and a deep, “Hey, Hinata-chan”, she feels nothing but anxiousness. His hand comes down to pat her head, and the minute she feels his palm on her scalp she can also feel nervous lightning crackle in between her fingers. Suddenly she is not in Konoha market, she is being carried away by a Kumo nin, his hand grabbing her head as she lay in bed and the other covering her mouth to muffle her surprised scream.

She can still feel the blood that fell onto her face when her father killed the nin.

Lightning still dances in her hands, her breath getting caught in her throat, and Hinata takes the moment to carefully remind herself to breathe in and out. “Hello, Asuma-sensei,” she manages to get out in between shaky breaths, “It’s an honor to meet you.” Because she is, even in her disowned state, a Hyuuga and former princess, Hinata forces herself to meet Asuma’s eyes. She can picture her father’s face, brows furrowed and glare sharp, as he icily lectures her about properly greeting guests. She knows that her greeting came too late, too quiet, and too uneven with her nervous stutter, and she is terrified to meet Asuma’s gaze and see the same disgust she would see in her father’s.

It isn’t there. Asuma looks at her with concern, his arm hanging out by his side, as if unsure whether he should comfort her or not. Kurenai’s gaze flickers between the two of them, one petite hand coming to rest on Hinata’s shoulders and give it a reassuring squeeze. “Ah, Asuma, you think you can just mess with my kid’s hair? You know how kunoichi feel about that,” Kurenai says, a teasing tone to her very real reprimand and warning. 

Hinata can see when her words dawn on him, his expression going from concerned to confused before settling on something that looks angry. “Even that young they worry about it?” he huffs, gaze glued onto Kurenai’s face. Hinata is terrified by his eyes, the hard lines of his face that say he is a battle-hardened man who knows how to fight and win.

What surprises her, though, is Kurenai’s gentle response to his anger. “Yes,” her sensei says, voice heavy with something Hinata recognizes but cannot name, “Hinata’s been worried about it since before she went to the Academy. Only friends get to mess with her hair.” 

Asuma responds with a shake of his head, his hands clenching by his side, and lightning begins to flicker in between Hinata’s fingertips as she watches. “That damn old man,” he grits out, “She’s a child. Why hasn’t he done anything?”

Kurenai’s hand squeezes Hinata’s shoulder once more, letting his question go unanswered. Asuma squats down to meet Hinata’s gaze, anger lingering in the tenseness of his jaw but leaving his eyes. “Hey, kid, I’m sorry about touching your head. How about I buy you all the dango you can eat to make up for it?”

It is all so confusing for Hinata, who is wondering why this man is not punishing her for poor greeting, or the way she cannot seem to look him in the eyes, or the way she has to cling one hand onto Kurenai’s dress to feel safe. Wasn’t he angry? Wasn’t he angry at her? Wasn’t he going to yell, or lecture, or hit?

Hinata has never known the love of a father, so when Asuma quiets his booming voice when he talks to her and doesn’t get too close even though she is glued to Kurenai’s side while eating her dango, she cannot help but be wary. It is only when, after noticing the way he kept glancing at her, making jokes and smiling when she did, that understanding dawns.

He is not angry at her, but for her. She slowly peels herself away from Kurenai’s side, and when her sensei gives her a gentle smile, she feels some lingering tension leave her body. Asuma-sensei is a good man, she decides, and when he offers his hand out to bump fists when they leave, the invitation hanging in the air, Hinata takes it, letting their knuckles quickly bump. 

“Kurenai-sensei,” Hinata says later, when her sensei comes to check on her before bed, “He’s nice. I’m happy for you. He can come to our home.”

Kurenai gently strokes her hair, her gaze warm. “You were very brave today, Hinata. Thank you for your bravery.”

Hinata has never known the love of a mother, the memory of her own mother too distant to be worth anything, but when Kurenai-sensei kisses her forehead and wishes her good night, she thinks she is beginning to learn. Remembering the concern and warmth in Asuma’s gaze, Hinata thinks she is willing to learn the love of a father as well. He is not Hiashi, and because of that, Hinata sleeps easily.

**Author's Note:**

> yeah i literally never read these over i just write and post so sorry for any grammar or spelling errors there are!


End file.
